This invention relates to a novel socket which is particularly useful for connection to a cathode-ray tube during the high-voltage processing thereof.
In the manufacture of a cathode-ray tube, after the tube has been evacuated and sealed, it is the practice to subject the tube to high-voltage processing; as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,698,786 to E. A. Gronka and 2,917,367 to T. E. Nash et al. The tube is supported on a conveyor holder, and the socket, which is attached to a cable, is plugged onto the tube base. The tube is then transported on the conveyer with the cable dangling below while the tube is processed. Subsequently, when the processing is complete, the socket is withdrawn from the tube base and the tube is unloaded.
The socket is used repeatedly for a progression of tubes and must be able to endure considerable wear in repeated pluggings and unpluggings. When a socket is to be replaced, the replacement should be quick and easy. The socket contacts must not score or otherwise degrade the tube base. Prior sockets have had a relatively short life and have required considerable labor for repair and replacement. Prior socket contacts have tended to bind on the base pins when the socket is unplugged, even though the required withdrawal force is only two pounds. In a type of base where each pin is backed up along its length in a groove molded in the plastic base, the socket contacts have tended to bind on the plastic that extends below the pins.